The Stars Between -- (VLD)

[29] My name is Lance, what is yours?

Lance stepped out of the medical bay, wiping his forehead in an attempt to rid some of the sweat that was falling into his eyes. He'd been in there for the last thirty hours, bringing life back into Rolo's limp body more times than he could count. They had not been able to open his eyes again, and Kelaan had finally sent Lance away for some rest.

Reaching up to his temples and massaging them, Lance let out a heavy sigh. He had put considerable strain on his eyes, and the garrison hadn't managed to file the paperwork for laser surgery before he and the others had blasted off on their impromptu adventure.

Lance turned his head at the sound of footsteps, seeing no one and wondering if he had imagined it.

A tug at the hem of his shirt told him he had not.

Glancing down, Lance smiled as he scooped Mik into his arms.

"Hey little Mikimoo, are you okay?"

She nodded a little, before she began to shake her head, snuggling closer into Lance's arms and burying her face in his chest. He noted how matted her fur seemed to be, and stroked his fingers through it in an attempt to untangle it a little.

"My head hurts." She mumbled after a short silence.

Lance's hand ran over the back of her ears, and Mik let out a quiet purr. He wondered if perhaps Therra also liked this kind of touch.

Not without her clawing at him, in any case.

"So, why does your head hurt?" Lance asked, tugging through a particularly tough knot in her fur.

"The new people are loud," she gave a yawn, displaying tiny baby fangs, before she looked up at Lance again. "Someone's crying and they can't get her to stop."

"Lan!"

Lance turned at the sound of his approximate name, shifting Mik in his arms a little in order to make room for Nea, who was hurrying towards him. She jumped up, using his extended arm to launch herself upwards. She scaled Lance's torso, settling on his shoulders.

"Hello, Nea," Mik leaned back in Lance's arms to peer up at the other kid, who giggled and waved back.

"Come on girls, lets go help Matt and the others with the new people."

Nea cheered, and even though Mik was more somber and quiet, Lance reckoned he saw a smile flit over her face.

Looking around at the small bunch of aliens and noting their sizes, Lance could easily see the the way they seemed to crowd around Koadda and the spider-like alien - the four-digits, as he had mentally referred to them.

Now that it was peaceful (mostly), without the imminent threat of being killed (once again, mostly), Lance could take the time to find any injuries or illnesses any of the freed slaves had sustained. All seemed well, aside from a small child with a persistent cough, so Lance moved further into the room.

The small blonde child from earlier was still crying, although it seemed she had run out of tears. She was still wailing loudly, Muxis trying to coax her out from under the table to no avail.

If Lance was right, Muxis was probably scaring her a little - after all, he was a big, intimidating Galra (even if he did have a dad bod)

Lance placed Mik on the floor before lifting Nea off his shoulders and setting her down too, dropping to the floor with his legs crossed. He had a clear view of the wailing girl from here, a short way from Muxis.

"Oh man, I hate it when someone is sad," Lance said clearly, Nea and Mik giggling as he shook his head theatrically. "It makes me sad!"

The wailing quietened down considerably, and Lance continued.